Mark frowned at his reflection in the mirror, fussing with his tie. 'You know this is going to be a long ceremony, right? Religious weddings always take at least an hour.'

'I know, I know. But it will be worth it to see Kate in that beautiful dress.' I replied, removing his hands from his tie and smoothing it down.

'She couldn't possibly be more beautiful than you,' he says, giving me that special look of his. The one that says let me take you to bed right this second.

'Smooth. But we don't have any time,' I check the time on my phone before tossing into the ridiculously tiny bag that I'm carrying. 'We've got to be downstairs in five minutes.'

Kate and I had remained friends since we graduated at Blackwell. She majored in art and now she illustrates children's books. They're so cute, I bought some to give to any future children I might have one day.

As we descend the staircase, I spot my oldest buddy, Chloe at the bottom, looking uncomfortable in a dress.

'Ha! So you went with the dress in the end!' I say with triumph. I'd been trying to convince her for months to wear a dress but she was adamant that she'd wear a suit.

'Not my choice really, I was totally forced into it,' she replies, plucking at the sleeves. 'Mark.' She addresses him politely, but coldly.

'Chloe.' He nods at her, takes my hand in his.

It's fair to say that they don't get along. A long time ago, Mark and I were on the outs and you know what girls are like, they look out for their friends, even if their friends stay with the guy they fought with. It's funny, I think they'd get along if they both stopped being stupid and just talked to one another.

'Rachel not back yet?' I ask. Rachel and Chloe have been together for about as long as Mark and I, which is a long time.

'No, she's still got a few days of the shoot left.' Chloe explains, fiddling with the plain platinum band on her left ring finger.

Rach and Chloe's wedding was something, let me tell you. They chose to get married in San Francisco – and that place is also special to Mark and I – they had rainbow flags everywhere, it was amazingly colourful. They asked me to be their official photographer, so I of course agreed. The shots were perfect, if I do say so myself.

It was also one of the very few times in my life that I got totally wasted – after completing my duties, obviously. Mark got trashed too and in our drunken state decided to return to the hotel where our relationship started and recreate it. But I won't go into that now. But boy, was that hangover painful. I think I was chewing painkillers for three days.

'Let's get going,' I say, heading out of the hotel lobby. The church wasn't very far from where we were all staying, so we took a pleasant spring stroll to the churchyard.

'Kate picked a beautiful day for it,' I said, looking up and admiring the trees in their full bloom glory. 'Look at these blossoms, they're just perfect. Why didn't you let me bring my camera?'

'Because I want you to enjoy your friend's wedding, not take photos all day.' Mark replied. 'Anyway, I've got mine, that's all we need.'

'Are you saying you're a better photographer than me?' I ask playfully, raising my eyebrows at him.

'Well, I've at least a decade more experience than you, so maybe I am.'

I move closer to him to tap his nose. 'But if you taught me, wouldn't that make me more experienced?'

'I've still got a lot to teach you,' he says, pulling me closer to him.

'For fuck's sake, can you guys do that later? And maybe not in front of me,' Chloe says from behind me. I turn to see her weary expression. 'If I have to see that shit one more time, I swear...' She stalks ahead of us into the church.

I can't help but giggle. 'She's right you know, we're at a church and everything.'

'Mmm, does that make it forbidden? Even better,' he gives a low growl in my ear, and nips my earlobe gently.

I push him away, 'Stop! We can't be out here when Kate arrives, it'll look weird.'

He allows himself to be pushed into the church, where we take our seats and await the bride's entrance. As the organ starts playing 'Here Comes The Bride', every guest looks down the aisle to see Kate entering with her father.

She looks breathtaking, in an enchanting long white gown, with a beautiful lace veil. Her bouquet is composed of white and yellow tulips. My God, she looks like a perfect angel. I feel tears well up in my eyes and I press my fingers to them to stem the flow. I promised myself I wouldn't cry!

Mark puts an arm around my waist when he notices my sniffles. 'I knew you were gonna cry,' he whispers, passing me a tissue.

'I can't help it!' I whisper back, dabbing my face. 'Is my make up running?'

He shakes his head, then nods towards the altar. I pull myself together and watch as Kate approaches her husband to be. He looks stunned. And as well he might, he's going to be married to the most precious person I've ever known. Sounds like I'm fawning over Kate, but she really is one of the best people I've ever met.

As predicted by Mark, the ceremony takes an hour, after which time everyone is either starving hungry or desperate to hit the bar, or maybe both. Mark decides to take some photos so I stand with Chloe while she has a cigarette.

'Man, I was craving one of these the entire time,' she says, inhaling. 'My last one was about half an hour before I met up with you.'

'Ouch, that's a long time for you,' I say, giving her a sympathetic look. ''Weren't you going to try and quit?'

'I try but, I get bored when Rach is away on assignments, it helps pass the time, you know?'

I nod, looking over to Kate where she is being directed by Mark. I shake my head. Doesn't he ever stop?

'So, you next, right?' Chloe says, tapping the ash from her cigarette.

'Me next, what?' I ask, confused.

'You're getting married next, dummy,' she clarifies, pointing at me, then Mark.

'Chlo', no,' I state, putting my hand up. 'I don't think -'

'What, you don't think seven years is long enough? C'mon, dude's planning something. Personally, I thought he was gonna propose to you after my wedding.' She takes another drag.

I ponder it for a moment. Maybe it would be good to get engaged, but I truthfully haven't given it much thought. I look over at him again and realise how much I love him.

'Shh, he's coming back dude!' Chloe is totally conspicuous, I'm surprised he doesn't know exactly what we're talking about. But maybe he does.

'I got some great shots of the bride,' he says, showing me.

'Perfect, as always,' I say, flicking through the images. 'Except for that one, totally washed out.'

'Something that can fixed in editing, Miss Know-It-All.'

'Sorry, I bow to your superior knowledge.' I say, rolling my eyes at him.

'Well it's about damn time someone did!'

I give him a playful nudge, and he retaliates by grabbing me and kissing me full on the mouth.

'God, get a room.' I hear Chloe walk away, clearly fed up of our shenanigans.

'Max, I promise you, you'll get your special day too,' he whispers in my ear.

'What do you mean?' I say, pulling back so I can watch his expression.

'All this,' he nods his head to the carnival surrounding Kate.

'Oh but I don't - '

'I'm not deaf Max, I heard what Chloe said. I won't tell you where, or when, but your day – our day – will come.'

With that, he kisses me with about as much passion as you can when there's a whole wedding party surrounding you, before we're called away for photo by the bridge and groom.